Haibike SDURO Full FatSix Review

The Haibike SDURO Full FatSix is one of the only full suspension, mid-drive, fat tire electric bikes that is being purpose-built by a leading ebike company… and it’s awesome. I do have a couple gripes here including the large clunky charger that Yamaha provides but the battery pack can be charged on or off the frame. And while I like the quiet operation, powerful 80 Nm torque, 500 watt rating and Zero Cadence response of the mid-drive I’ve found that it operates between a lower pedal cadence than Bosch (on the XDURO line) and doesn’t offer shift sensing. With those points made, let’s discuss where this electric bike really shines! The thing looks awesome, doesn’t weigh nearly as much as I thought it would (at just ~53 lbs) and is reasonably priced at $5,300 compared to similar offerings that either don’t offer any suspension or are hardtails (with just front suspension).

Sure, fat tires help to dampen vibration and smooth over bumps (especially when running with low PSI) but you can’t beat 120 mm of true suspension and the Full FatSix comes with air shocks by RockShox including remote lockout on the front and clicker adjustability for the rear including rebound. Depending on the type of riding you do, a seat post dropper could be added and the bike could go from sand/snow fun to actual mountain bike riding and some downhill. How awesome would it be to mountain bike on partially snow-covered trails or across sand dunes?! I really enjoyed riding the Easy Motion Big Bud Pro recently which offered all-wheel-drive to improve handling and climbing but it had no suspension and weighed seven pounds more. The motor systems used for the Haibike Full Fat Six are durable, mounted low and center for stability and very efficient – leveraging your drivetrain to benefit as you shift up or down.

This is a Class 1 electric bike with pedal assist only making it more acceptable on trails and with the black paint and slim battery it looks pretty stealthy. Operation is fairly quiet but still powerful and quite responsive. You get two chain rings up front with ten sprockets in the rear so the cockpit becomes a tad bit more crowded (shifters on both sides in addition to the display and button pad). I like user interfaces and really appreciate the removability of the display for transport or locking outside. The display is large and easy to read with persistent backlighting. The button pad is reachable, very durable feeling in terms of water resistance and even has a built in Micro USB port to maintain electronics like phones for GPS or music.

It’s really impressive to me that this bike is being made available in three frame sizes… it’s such an awesome concept and the size range and sloping top tube (enabled by the side-mounting battery) mean more people can hop on and enjoy. Be sure to adjust the air suspension properly so you can actually enjoy the performance it’s capable of. The one other downside right now is that the bike appears to be nearly sold out. Quite a few Haibike models arrived late in 2016 and many people have been pre-ordering. Furthermore, I’m hearing the bike was also popular in Europe and their market is larger than the US right now so it’s possible we just got fewer to begin with. At the end of the day, this is an expensive but super fun and capable electric mountain bike with fat tires and full suspension. It’s not just for show, the components are solid and the frame felt pretty rigid given the setup.

Pros:

• I was asking about good racks for a fat bike that’s electric (being a bit heavier) like this and Matt (the Haibike rep) recommended the Saris SuperClamp which has optional fat-bike specific trays
• I think it’s amazing that this bike is available in four frame sizes… it seems unique and niche and isn’t especially cheap at $5,300 so to have choices like this is great! Should fit taller or shorter riders well and the top tube is angled thanks to the Yamaha side-slide battery so stand over is lowered
• Despite having larger heavier wheels and tires and full suspension the frame flex wasn’t too bad, there was some but it still felt tight and handled well, battery and motor weight is low and centere
• This thing is surprisingly light considering it’s a fat bike with full suspension… at ~53 lbs it’s lighter than a lot of hardtail e-mountain bikes without fat tires
• Both RockShox suspension units are adjustable so you can reduce bob, the front has remote lockout which is nice considering the fat tires already add some good cushion
• Awesome brakes… you get Magura hydraulic with dual piston (to reduce heat) and extra large discs (203 up front and 180 in the rear)
• You get thru-axles front and rear which provide stiffness and strength, I find that they also make it easier to take the wheels off and line them back up when doing maintenance, the rear is custom length at 197/12 mm
• with quick release wheels, seat tube, a removable battery and removable display panel you can significantly reduce weight and size for transporting this ebike and that’s important given the size of the tires
• The display panel is large, easy to read, backlit and removable! I like that the button pad is easy to reach, well sealed and has an integrated Micro USB port for charging accessories
• The Yamaha mid-drive motor operates fairly quietly in high and mid level gears (when it’s not spinning super fast)
• Replaceable plastic skid plate protects the motor from impact and is color matched so it looks great, overall Haibike makes great looking frames with quality paint and matching accessories like grips

Cons:

• The bike is awesome looking and one of a kind in the market right now (full suspension fat bike!) but apparently it’s almost completely sold out so even if you want one… good luck
• The fat 4″ wide tires offer cushion for comfort and surface area for navigating soft terrain but require more power to get started and produce more drag so the range will be less than many other SDURO Haibikes
• The motor activates with a lower cadence range than XDURO (Bosch powered Haibikes), I found that when switching down to lower gears the motor support dropped out significantly (even in the highest pedal assist mode), this was a bummer when approaching hills at high speed riding off-road, the rep said the power packet engages with an optimal RPM of ~80 vs. the Bosch motors between 95 to 105 RPM
• No shift sensing or shift detection built into the drive system, this could lead to more mashing, banging and premature wear on the chain, cassette and derailleur
• Large battery charger with cables that don’t come unplugged so it’s extra long even when the cables are tied up, it also weighs more than some other chargers I’ve seen
• I found that the battery pack can rattle a bit at times and that you really need to make sure it’s clicked in before riding off, you could turn and remove the key but then push to hear the click of the battery

Resources:

• Official Site: http://www.haibike.de/microsites/sduro/us/
• More Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/5aDvNdmP92U4zzok8